Buccaners 38, Cardinals 35

The Cards drop to 3-4 on the season with today's 38-35 loss to the Bucs.  The Cards hung tough, they had a chance to win, but Max Hall's 2 pick-6's were too much to overcome.  Other observations?  1) Derek Anderson threw a boneheaded INT late in the game when they are already in FG range, but otherwise played ok, he really should be the starter next week, Max Hall is clearly not ready.  2) They really need to cut down on the turnovers if they want to stay in playoff contention.  3) Steve Breaston was really missed when he was out injured, he had a nice game today (8 catches for 147 yeards).  4) Kerry Rhodes had another nice game (10 tackles).  5) Next week, the Vikings in Minneapolis, it's shaping up as a must win for both teams.

Patriots 28, Vikings 18

Another Sunday, another loss for the Vikings, this time 28-18 to the Patriots in Foxboro.  The Vikes drop to 2-5 for the season.  With 9 games left they're are looking at needing at a minimum of a 7-2 finish to make the playoffs.  That's doable but they need to play much better than they have been.  There just seems to be something missing this year, maybe they just got old and lazy, I don't know.  Other observations?   1) Would somebody send out an Amber Alert on Jared Allen already?  Yet again, no sacks for Allen, he's got 1 sack in 7 games.  Perhaps he needs the mullet back.  2) Speaking of sacks, Jared Allen isn't the only one with the lack of them, they've got only 6 all year, that's in 7 games, that is ridiculous, perhaps they need to try more than a 4 man rush on occasion.  3) The lack of a pass rush has also not helped their porous secondary much, you give a QB like Tom Brady to find an open receiver and he probably will.  Back to the secodary, Asher Allen continues to underwhelm with his play at CB, Madieu Williams didn't impress me much either at DB.  4) What happened to the OL?  Favre is getting the hell beat out him week in and week out, I realize that he's not as mobile as he used to be but much of the blame also needs to fall squarely on the play of the OL.  5) I'll give Favre some credit, he didn't play bad considering he has 2 fractures in his foot, still, that being said, I'm really not sure if he put the team first by playing today, he's not as young as he used to be, there's still a long season ahead, he's got a bum ankle and a sore elbow (and now a sore chin), a week off may have helped immensely.  6) Why are they not using Randy Moss more (1 catch for 8 yards today)?  Isn't that why they brought him in?  Find a way to get him the ball already.  7) The offense is just way too predictable, run, run, pass, run, run, pass, they need to do a better job of mixing things up.  8) Does Brad Childress start getting some heat?  This team is under performing big time with a veteran laden roster, the owners need a winning team to sell the public on a new stadium, they've got a coach in waiting in Leslie Frazier, it could get interesting.  9) They've got the struggling Cardinals next week in Minneapolis, it's really a must win (actually, a must win for both teams). 

Hypocrisy on the Stimulus

Good stuff.  Please think before you buy into the anti-stimulus hype.

Ohio St 52, Minnesota 10

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, you get another low, this time in a 52-10 loss to the Buckeyes. That loss drops them to 1-8 on the season.  Can they just forfeit their last 3 games?   It's not like they showed up for this past game anyways.  What a joke of a game it was, what a lack of effort being put forth, what a lack of coaching on display.  Where oh where did things go so wrong?  The only point of interest in the program going forward (it's not the opportunity to see the younger players develop, because the coaches seem reluctant to do that for some reason) is the coaching search (and at what point do you think top available coaches are going to look at this program and want no part of it).   Other observations?   1) Why the hell isn't Adam Weber on the bench when the game is clearly out of hand?  Do these coaches feel no responsibility to develop players for the future because they will not be there for the future?  Does Adam Weber have no shame?  It's just beyond ridiculous.  2) How's it possible to put that poor of a defense on the field?  They've recruited some talent, they shouldn't be this bad.  The poor coaching is increasingly evident every week.  3) Special teams was deplorable once again, how is Eric Ellestad a division 1 kicker?  Dan Oreseke is possibly the worst punter I can remember is Gopher history, he really needs to work on his release time.  And what shit poor effort on kick coverage, how about some effort fellas?  4) I'm still on the Al Golden bandwagon for next coach but I'm hearing no buzz in his direction.  The buzz I'm hearing is Phil Fulmer, Kevin Sumlin & Mike Stoops but you never know when a search firm is involved.  5) Next week at Michigan St, I'm predicting another big loss.  6) Please make it end, please make it end!

I'm voting Republican because.....

Eliana Franco

Hello, Eliana Franco!   

California Governor's Race

This is a very effective ad by Jerry Brown. 

Potpourri

• World Series is set, Rangers vs Giants. 
• Cain Velasquez thumps Brock Lesnar. 
• Russell Brand & Katy Perry get hitched
• Lady Gaga's 10 Most Outrageous outfits.
• Anna Chapman aka "the Russian spy" looking good in Maxim.
• Tariq Azia sentenced to death. 
• From hiccups to murder.
• Vikings vs Packers was the most watched Sunday Night Football game ever.
• RIP Paul the Octopus.
• 10 Best Places for retirement?
  

GOP's number 1 priority

Does this Mitch McConnell quote really make you want to vote Republican next Tuesday? 

"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

He doesn't seem too concerned about the economy does he?  Or about unemployment?  Or the deficit?  Or protecting the country from terrorist attacks?  Or bipartisanship?  Or anything else for that matter?   Yikes!

SNL Favre Wrangler Spoof

More funny stuff from SNL. 

TPSG 2010 AZ Election Endorsements

I know that everybody has been waiting with baited breath for my 2010 Arizona election endorsements, so here goes:

UNITED STATES SENATOR:  Rodney Glassman over John McCain
It's not that I'm a huge Rodney Glassman fan, it's just that I've come to despise John McCain.  Believe it or not, I voted for John McCain the last time he was up for re-election and I almost never vote Republican.  I liked the maverick John McCain, he was someone who stood up for his beliefs, he was pragmatic, he was willing to take on his own party when it was called for (see his former stances on immigration and the Bush tax cuts for example).  John McCain is now nowhere near the same person, ever since he ran for President he has veered to the far right in order to win votes, he in essence has sold out and I cannot support a sell out.  He is now suggesting that we move right back to the far right ideological agenda that got us into the mess we are currently in, I cannot support that.  He will not get my vote. I don't see him losing though, my only hope is that given his age he will not be running for election again and will thus no longer need to kowtow to the far right and will move back to his maverick role (wishful thinking perhaps but it's my hope). 


U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 1:  Ann Kirkpatrick
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 2:  John Thrasher
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 3:  Jon Hulburd
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 4:  Ed Pastor
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 5:  Harry Mitchell
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 6:  Jeff Flake
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 7:  Raul Grijalva
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE in District 8:  Gabrielle Giffords
All democrats except for Jeff Flake. Obama deserves more than 22 months to clean up the mess that GWB left us in, to best do that he need support from the House of Representatives, that means voting for Democrats.  Harry Mitchell is running in my district, I really hope he can hold on, he's in a heavily republican leaning district and is facing a tough challenge from David Schweikert, but he has a long history of public service and seems to always have the best interest of his constituents at heart.  Despite the Schweikert propoganda he has not voted with Nancy Pelosi and company on everything, he's actually been pretty pragmatic in his voting record.  And to that, being that he was voted in as a democrat, shouldn't he be voting along party lines most of the time?   Didn't the GOP just purge a whole lot of moderate republicans who didn't toe the party line?   Why do they hold democrats to a different standard?   I also want no part of Ben Quayle in District 3, the only reason he is even a candidate is his family connections and family money, he's a joke.  Oh, and regarding Jeff Flake, he's one of the few republicans out there that I have any respect for, he seems highly principled, I also have no problem with his fight against pork and wasteful spending . 


GOVERNOR:  Terry Goddard
Did you see the Arizona Governor debate?   Enough said.  Ok, not enough, how about Jan Brewer's beheading claims? How about the fact that she has gone in to hiding since her last debate.  My God, Jan Brewer can barely string a sentence together, she wasn't voted in as Governor in the first place (she took over when Janet Napolitano left), she is way over her head.   Most importantly we need someone who can stand up to Russell Pearce and his far right agenda in the Arizona legislature, they have made us a national joke.  Terry Goddard is a long time elected official in the state of Arizona, I truly believe that he has experience and skill to guide us out of our current abyss. 

More picks on the next page.  AZCentral also has a nice page set up for the Arizona elections.

Packers 28, Vikings 24

The Vikings drop another one, this time 28-24 to the Packers.  They now fall to 2-4, with 10 games left you'd have to assume they need to go at a minimum of 7-3 in those last 10 to even have a chance at the playoffs (even then they'd just be 9-7).  I'm beginning to think that they would have been better off had Favre retired, he hasn't played good at all, he had 3 more INT's tonight, that pick 6 he threw to Desmond Bishop was devastating.   Other observations?   1) Adrian Peterson had a heckuva game (131 yards rushing), he still hasn't fumbled this year either.  2) Percy Harvin also had a nice game, he seems to be doing much better since they solved his migraine issues (sleep apnea), the addition of Randy Moss has also helped (as they could move him back to the slot where he is much more comfortable.  3) Visanthe Shiancoe was robbed when his TD catch was overruled by replay, that was a TD, they then needed to settle for a FG, that's the losing margin right there. 4) Speaking of replays, the Vikings made a mistake in not requesting a replay of the Andrew Quarless TD, that was not a catch.  5) Where's the pass rush?  Not one sack tonight.  Wake up Jared Allen, you're getting paid a lot of money to get to the QB, you need to step up your game.   6) The secondary wasn't much better, there seemed to be somebody open all night long.  7) Things don't get much easier from here, next week they are in New England to take on the Patriots, that will be no easy chore. 

Ms TPSG

I need me some Marisa Miller.

Seahawks 22, Cardinals 10

Not a pretty game for the Cardinals today in Seattle, they lost an ugly game 22-10 to the Seahawks to drop to 3-3 on the season.  They turned the ball over 5 times and Max Hall was just dreadful at QB.  The defense actually played well enough to win, they held the Seahawks to just one touchdown (and that was after a muffed punt return deep in their own territory).  Other observations?  1) Max Hall is just not ready, he only completed 4 of 16 passes for 36 yards, he looked lost out there.  I also wasn't overly impressed with his arm strength, I really don't see him as the long term solution at QB.  2) Speaking of which, Derek Anderson should be starting next week, he gave them a little bit of a spark today (he isn't though).  3) The DL was getting nice pressure on Hasselbeck most of the game, Alan Branch had 2 sacks, that was good to see.  4) DRC needs to stay on side on the FG/XP attempts, I think they caught him going offsides 3 times today.  5) Why didn't they make a run at Donovan McNabb this past offseason again????   6) Steve Breaston, get well soon, you are needed.  7) Next week Tampa Bay at home, that's a winnable game. 

Penn St 33, Minnesota 21

So, the Jeff Horton era begins the same as the Tim Brewster era ended, with yet another loss.  I'm really ready for this season to come to an end.  Unfortunately, they've still got what appears to be 4 sure loses to go (Ohio St, Michigan St, Illinois & Iowa).  This sucks, I bought into Brewster lock, stock and barrel, I thought that he was the guy who would finally turn this program around, turns out he wasn't anything other than a snake oil salesman.  Other observations?   1) What's with the continued refusal to give MarQueis Gray some time at QB???  Their on their way to a 1-11 season, it's ok to play 2 QB's!  Who knows, maybe Gray would give them that spark that they've been missing.  2) DeJon McKnight continues to shine at WR, he had 3 TD's and 103 yards receiving, he's turned into a very nice receiver (props to WR coach Steve Watson BTW).  3) DeLeon Eskridge had a nice game at RB (111 yards on 26 carries), he's still a far cry from a program turning back though (see Lawrence Maroney & MBIII).   4) Nobody on defense stood out yet again, the only positive I can find is that at least they are gaining experience and will be better next year, hopefully in a scheme that fits their abilities better.  5) I keep hearing the name Mike Bellotti in the coaching search and I have to admit that his name is growing on me, he's been a successful Division 1 coach, he's well respected, he ran a clean program, he made some very good assistant coaching hires and he's available right now (he's not coaching anywhere right now, he's broadcasting) so he'd be able to jump right into recruiting.  I'm moving him to the top of my list (along with Al Golden from Temple and Troy Calhoun at Air Force).

***California 50, ASU 17***
A miserable performance by the Sun Devils, they got their asses handed to them in Berkley.  What makes this even worse is that it was coming off a bye week, they had 2 weeks to prepare for Cal and that's the best they could come up with.  Steven Threet got a concussion, he's been really up and down anyways (more ints than TD's).  Dennis Erickson is going to start feeling some heat soon if this keeps up.